章 31: The Order of the Obsidian [4] - Keen Eyes
Silas had drunk his invisibility potion shortly after Quill left him. While in this state, he witnessed a hidden entry being opened in the library, seemingly by a ghost hand.
Knowing the attribute the attire brought with it, since Quill had shown him, it was fairly obvious that these were members of the Order, simply disguised as he himself was.
Now visible again, Silas waited in front of the library in a concealed spot, ready to drink his second potion and leave without being noticed when the secret entrance opened.
Quill had instructed him to stay until the gathering was over, so that was his plan.
What puzzled him was why he needed to watch over the place at all.
The Order surely didn't need additional guards, and if they did, they would have already placed them in front of the library.
Silas reasoned that if there were any guards, they would have already acted by now, given his lack of a proper hiding spot.
Quill had suggested he was infiltrating the Order, leading Silas to believe Quill wanted to avoid any disturbances, however unlikely.
Although Silas felt alone in the dimly lit library, the sudden murmur of voices shattered the silence, making his heart race and his senses sharpen.
Should he drink his second potion? He hesitated, feeling the weight of the small vial in his pocket.
He strained to make out the approaching figures, every slight sound amplified in the quiet space.
"Your professor said to get everything before sunset, so can't we just leave it for now and come back tomorrow?" the voice was tinged with impatience.
"Every passing minute of wasted time is a higher chance of failing the exams." came the curt response, filled with determination.
"...You're not even going to study in the first place!" the first voice sounded exasperated now, footsteps shuffling closer.
"I am! Just at my own pace." There was a defensive edge to the reply.
Silas listened attentively. The voices sounded familiar... Didn't he know these voices from somewhere?
Peeking through the gaps, Silas saw two males enter the library with sneaky steps, scanning the area. One had brown hair paired with striking purple eyes; the other had blonde hair that perfectly matched his blue eyes.
"Really?" Silas sighed heavily, recognizing who they were.
"Psssh. Be quiet!" Oliver whispered urgently, putting a finger to his lips.
"...But why? There isn't even anyone here," Emrys retorted, though he kept his voice low.
"That's...! Wait, you're right... Didn't your professor mention it was reserved for something?"
"Yeah, he did," Emrys answered, delving into the bookshelves.
As he reached for a book, Emrys's and Silas's eyes met. "Waaaaaaaaah!!" Emrys screamed, stumbling back. Oliver screamed in the same manner, "What happened?!"
Silas rushed out of his hiding place, placing his fingers on his mouth, "Pssssh, you idiots," he whispered harshly.
Oliver and Emrys looked at each other, their heart rates slowly returning to normal.
The library's silence settled back in, the faint sound of a distant clock ticking resuming its rhythm.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Emrys retorted first, his voice a mix of surprise and annoyance.
"I could ask the same!" Silas shot back, narrowing his eyes.
"I forgot to borrow a needed book!" Emrys continued, his tone defensive.
"So did I!" Silas retorted, and they both fell silent.
"...Should we just act as if this had never happened?" Oliver suggested, breaking the silence. Both boys nodded in agreement.
"Well, anyway, just go grab your books and leave," Silas said, glancing around nervously.
"What about you?" Oliver asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Obviously, I'm going to do the same," Silas answered, his voice steady but his eyes betraying his unease.
The three of them stood there awkwardly for a few seconds.
Silas was the first to move, pretending to search through the bookshelves with forced concentration. Oliver and Emrys followed suit, each trying to act nonchalant,
/||\
"Isn't it strange?" Emrys started, glancing around the rows of books. Oliver was beside him, casting anxious looks over his shoulder. The vast library made it easy to lose sight of others, and Silas was now out of view.
"What?" Oliver asked, nervously glancing around, worried about getting caught since it was technically prohibited to be in the library at this hour.
"Silas never seemed like the studying type to me," Emrys mused, his voice low.
"To be fair, you don't give off that vibe either," Oliver replied, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips.
Emrys shot him a side glance. "Just so you know, I'm four ranks ahead of you."
"We both know it's not your academic talent that got you there," Oliver retorted
"...Touché." Emrys conceded, rolling his eyes.
That was the precise reason Emrys wanted to go to the library in the first place: to search for history books.
Though their scrolls had vast resources, the worldwide web wasn't available, limiting them to the private internet of the academy.
This paled in comparison to the giant library, which contained wisdom from across the continent, spanning new and old ages and representing all races.
The Fae-Touched were the primary source of knowledge that humans were adapting, though there wasn't reliable evidence of those species.
It was a fairy tale that there once was a Gift User capable of traversing other realms and dimensions, bringing helpful knowledge back to humanity.
Most people thought it was a lie, propaganda to make Gift Users seem superior due to their vigilant influence on humanity's evolution.
Unbeknownst to them, Silas was watching and listening. His time with his father had taught him many skills, one of them being stealthy footwork.
He didn't know how long the gathering would take; Quill hadn't told him because he himself didn't know.
But it had already been half an hour, and with every passing minute, the end had to get closer.
Quill had instructed him to look out for unwanted guests, and if Emrys and Oliver weren't unwanted guests, then who could be?
Silas's mind filled with doubt. Was it a coincidence that these two students had come to the library this late, or did Quill know someone would come? Was he overthinking it?
Then again, if he had overthought things before regarding Oscar and Weiss, he might have done better... Silas shook off the thought, refocusing on the task at hand.
Silas stood up from his kneeling position, choosing the most straightforward option. "Guys, come on, let's leave."
The two boys looked at him. "...Just a minute, we're still searching for something specific," Emrys explained, his eyes scanning the shelves intently.
"I don't think we should be here anymore," Silas urged. "What if we get caught..." He ended, his voice dropping to a whisper to make his act more believable.
"He's right, we've been here too long. You told me it'd take only five minutes," Oliver pleaded, a note of anxiety creeping into his voice.
Emrys sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Fine, fine."
Suddenly, the sound of an opening passage, like a heavy shelf moving, filled the air. The unexpected noise flooded Silas with adrenaline.
"What was tha—" Emrys began, but before he could finish his sentence, Silas grabbed both of their mouths, silencing them, and pushed them down to the ground.
"Whammm," Emrys let out, the tight grip of Silas muffling his voice.
Their three pairs of eyes met, Silas's urgent look signaling that he hadn't just gone mad. He slowly removed his hands and gestured for them to stay silent. Both Emrys and Oliver nodded.
They were hidden behind a shelf, ensuring they wouldn't be seen unless someone was actively searching for them. The faint smell of old books and parchment filled their nostrils.
The sudden sound of footsteps on wood added to the confusion. The footsteps were deliberate, echoing ominously through the vast library, yet no one could be seen.
Silas, knowing about the invisibility attire of the Order members, reached into his pocket and pulled out his invisibility potion.
He debated whether it was necessary to drink it and, if so, how to share it with the other two, which would diminish its duration.
For now, their hiding spot seemed reliable. Not that Silas could be sure; for all he knew, someone could be right behind them.
"..What are those things? Or rather, who are those people?" Emrys whispered, his eyes wide with confusion.
Silas gave Emrys a strange look after hearing what he had said.
Oliver nudged Emrys, signaling with his hands to keep quiet. "What are you talking about?"
Emrys responded, his voice barely audible, "Don't you see those people with the black cloaks and the weird masks?"
Oliver looked back but saw nothing, only hearing the faint sounds of multiple footsteps, which made him quite anxious. The eerie silence of the library was occasionally broken by the creaking of old wood.
Silas, on the other hand, was in awe. How in the hell was Emrys able to see them?
Silas motioned for them to stay still for a moment longer, just to be sure. The silence in the library returned.
Finally, Silas exhaled slowly. "I think they're gone," he whispered.
Now that he thought about it, Quill had never told him if they were meeting up again tonight. But if Quill had wanted to, he surely would have pointed it out.
"It seems like there's nobody here," Silas concluded after analyzing the surroundings. "Right, Emrys?"
Of course, Silas couldn't be completely sure, so he had to trust in the strange phenomenon of Emrys's sight.
"Well, I don't see anyone... But what the hell was that in the first place?" Emrys asked, his voice tinged with bewilderment.
"I have no idea. But I think we're fortunate we didn't have to find out," Silas said, half lying, half not.
"...Shouldn't we tell the professors?" Oliver chimed in, his voice still anxious, his eyes darting around nervously.
"But with how Professor Mendoza explained it... Didn't they approve of this?" Emrys questioned, frowning as he tried to make sense of the situation.
"Well, maybe they thought it was meant for something else and were lied to? In what world is a secret passage normal? Especially with whatever you saw. ," Oliver exclaimed.
Unlike Silas, Oliver didn't question Emrys's sight. He had known since childhood that those purple eyes were keen, seeing things others couldn't.
If Emrys said he saw something, he saw something.
"Silas, what do you think?" Emrys asked, noticing Silas wasn't really participating in the conversation.
"I-I don't know!" Silas stammered, feigning visible fear. "Maybe it was just a confidential staff meeting... But I don't think we should really investigate further... right?" Silas let out, seemingly scared.
"Exactly," Oliver agreed, relief evident in his voice.
"But what if it's actually something dangerous?" Emrys argued, his brow furrowed with concern.
"II mean... would there really be a whole entrance without the professors or headmaster knowing? Someone had to construct it, and it's unlikely no one noticed," Silas explained, trying to sound logical.
"That... That does seem plausible, I guess..." Emrys conceded, though it still seemed fishy to him. His instincts told him there was more to this than met the eye—or rather, his eye.
"Let's just pay attention to the exam, please! I have to rank up from the Vanguard dorm!" Oliver pleaded, already making his way out of the library, his urgency palpable.
Silas followed, glancing back at Emrys to ensure he was coming.
Emrys took one final look at the shelf, now back in its original position as if nothing had happened.
The sense of unease lingered, but he shook his head and hurried after the other two.
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